1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to hunting, fishing, and trapping, and particularly to a decoy suspension system for adjustably suspending a lightweight decoy from a tree or other overhead structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Decoys have been known and used in hunting since the earliest of times. In their early history, decoys tended to be relatively crude and simple representations of the game animal being sought, due to the limited resources available for forming a realistic representation. As technology has advanced, more realistic decoys have been developed that can be difficult to distinguish from the real animal at a glance.
However, most decoys are merely visual representations of a given animal, and they do not imitate or replicate typical movement of the game animal being sought. The lack of animation in most decoys may tend to raise suspicions in many animals, and at the very least the lack of movement results in the decoy tending to blend into the stationary background, thus failing to catch the attention of the hunted animal through any movement of the decoy. While waterborne decoys, e.g., ducks and geese, may obviate this problem to some extent due to water movement affecting the decoys floating on the surface, this problem of lack of movement remains with land-based decoys.
As a result, some effort has been expended in providing animation for decoys. The means for animating the decoys may comprise relatively simple supports that allow the decoy to shift in the wind, to complex electrically powered devices that move the decoy and/or various appendages of the decoy in accordance with the electronic commands of the system, or as remotely commanded by the hunter. Such electrically powered animation results in relatively costly decoys, while simple supports do not generally provide the realistic movement desired,
An example may be found in turkey decoys. Many such decoys are formed of very lightweight materials, such as thin sheets of foam plastic, and are conventionally supported on metal rods or stakes that are driven into the ground. The upper portion of the rod passes through a loose hole in the bottom of the body of the decoy, and the upper tip of the rod supports the inside of the back of the decoy to allow the decoy to pivot upon the tip of the rod or stake. The object is for any wind to cause some movement of the decoy. However, it generally requires a fairly good breeze to produce any significant movement, and the resulting movement is generally only a pivoting motion about the tip of the rod or stake. Also, wild turkeys will sometimes attempt to mate with the decoy (if the decoy is a hen) or fight with the decoy (if a torn decoy). Either action often knocks the decoy from its pivot point atop the stake or rod, negating any attraction that might have been provided by the decoy.
Thus, a decoy suspension system solving the aforementioned problems is desired.